Abandoned
by Johsel
Summary: Five years ago Penny left Sheldon with their new born child, she went looking for fame and fortune as she was not ready to be a mother. Now five years of success and regret. Penny is looking to mend the relationship she broke and regain her family. There stands one little problem her five year old daughter Anna, who does not love her mother because she abandoned her so long ago.
1. Chapter 1

_"Dear Sheldon,_

_I am sorry but I cannot give up my dream, I know it is not fair and I know you may never forgive me. But I am not ready to be a mother to our child. I love you so much and but I am feeling so trapped and like I am settling. Please take care of Anna._

_Your wife_

_Penny Cooper"_

**Five years later**

A lot of things had happened in Penny's life since that day she left her husband with their 8 month old baby girl. Many times Penny had wanted to return to him and be the wife she had wanted to be but she had found success with her acting and was living the dream of her childhood.

She was torn and she did not know what to do.

She had never divorced him or had she received any notification that Sheldon had divorced her. She kept in touch with Bernadette and Amy when she could, but she had made them promise that they would not tell Sheldon.

So far they had kept their word. Though unknown to Penny, they would have not told Sheldon anything even if she asked them to.

She had received the letters and photos that Sheldon had sent to her agent, photos of a daughter she had abandoned. Never once had Sheldon written anything cruel or mean in his letters, he was loving as ever, keeping her up to date on her daughter's progress.

She was amazed at the love that Sheldon had for his little Anna Blossom as he called her. She was not smart like her father, but she was smarter than others her age and by his descriptions of her, she was like her mother, full of dreams and full of emotions. She must be driving him mad.

Sheldon never mentioned how much her daughter hated her mother, always ending each letter with an expression of love from her. But she had learnt from Amy that Anna would get angry and mad at the mention of her name and scream that she had abandoned her. What Amy failed to mentioned that no one other than Howard or Sheldon actually spoke well of Penny to her.

Will Wheaton had become a good friend to Sheldon, and he was continually telling her to go back to her man and how much he missed her. He had told her that she could make it work and she needed to get back into their lives for her own sake.

So here she was sitting at her home, with her three dogs, reading the latest article on one Sheldon Lee Cooper, wondering if she could fix what she had broken. Could she win back the man that she loved, yes she could because he never stopped loving her.

However winning the daughter she left behind was going to be harder. She knew that and she would lose them both if she failed because she would not come between them. She owed them that much.

She turned off her IPad and laid back to have a sleep, tomorrow she would begin that journey, she just hoped she would succeed


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Note: Thank you for the reviews, the first chapter was just a setting the scene, now the story begins.**

**Disclaimer I do not know Big Bang, all I have is the story.**

Sheldon woke at the same time each morning to get ready for the day. He knew that he needed to keep on schedule because Anna Lee Cooper was not a morning person. Sheldon was proud of his daughter though she may not be gifted in the way he was but she was gifted in creativity. She could draw, she could sing, she was a gifted artist even at the tender age of five.

Sheldon knew where the talent came from, Penny, he missed her every day and longed for the day that she would come back. He had followed her career and was happy that she had achieved so much since she walked out the door.

He had been hurt by the guys she supposedly dated, though it seemed that they did not last long. He had thought for years of contacting her but he could not bring himself to. There was another problem with getting Penny back into his life. Her name was Anna.

He had tried very hard to help his daughter understand her mother, it had not helped that Leonard and Amy had branded her a bad mother for leaving their daughter so young. He hated that Anna would not watch any program where her mother appeared. He had brought presents for her saying they were from her mother to find them smashed or thrown out the window of the apartment.

He had sent pictures and other things to let Penny know about all the things her daughter achieved, but she had not sent anything in return. Sheldon just did not get it the two people he loved would just not have anything to do with each other.

He went to have his shower, he did not worry about Anna getting up before he finished, she would not get up until he made her. That was just the way things were.

**Across town**

The alarm clock went off, Penny woke with a start.

"What the hell" she thought "Oh yeah today I am doing some commercial for a children charity and I have to get up early"

"Now which school is it" Penny thought "Oh yes Pasadena Junior College just down the road from Caltech"

"Caltech" Penny thought for a moment "Sheldon, I could go and see Sheldon afterwards"

"Penny smiled as she thought of seeing Sheldon again, maybe even starting to correct part of the mistake she had made all those years ago.

Grabbing her gown, Penny went into the bathroom and prepared to have a shower.

**Anna's room**

"Come young lady, time to get up for preschool"

"Go away"

"Anna get out of bed now" Sheldon said dodging the teddy bear that Anna throw at him "Your breakfast is waiting and you need to have a bath and get dressed or we will not leave on time"

"Why should we leave on time?" Anna moaned "The school is not going anywhere"

"Anna you know keeping to the schedule means that we can do other things later"

"But they are shooting some dumb commercial with some stupid movie actress"

"And"

"My mother is an actress and she is a cow"

"Anna your mother is not a cow, she is your mother"

"Aunty Amy and Uncle Leonard says that she is a drunken slut who hurt my daddy"

"When did they say that to you?"

"Yesterday, I was playing on the stairs to the laundry and they came in talking about her"

"So you overheard them"

"Yes"

"Well I will have a word with Amy and Leonard Hofstadter about making sure that they do not say bad things about your mother"

"Why do you always stick up for her?"

"I love her"

"Why she does not love you or me"

"Anna, your mother does love you"

"Tommy Winslow told me that if someone leaves someone then they do not love them"

"Tommy is five and knows nothing"

"He knows how to kiss a girl"

"And how does he know that" Sheldon asked knowing full well what his daughter was going to say

"Because he kissed me"

Sheldon sighed, "Come on go have your breakfast"

He watched as his little girl in her flash nightie ran out of the room towards the kitchen, he looked around the room surveying the carnage of clothes and toys scattered everywhere. "So much like her mother, how she finds anything in the room amazes me"

He had learnt to control his desire to clean her room, he made sure that she cleaned it at least one and a week, and helped with the laundry on Saturday. He was learning to change for the sake of his daughter.

He left the room and entered the kitchen/living room area, Anna was sitting in her chair near the coffee table eating her breakfast. He made sure that he had made her lunch for the day before heading to the bathroom to run her bath.

40 minutes later he and Anna met Leonard in the hallway

"Where is Amy?"

"She's not feeling well this morning"

"Morning sickness"

"Yep"

"Good Morning Uncle Leonard"

"Morning Anna"

"Sorry I have gotten you in trouble again"

"Huh"

"Daddy found out what you and Amy said last night when you came in with tea"

"How did he find out?"

"I told him"

"We will discuss later Leonard, when someone is not present"

"Never hear the good stuff, always happens when I am not around"

"Anna"

"Well it does"

20 minutes later the car pulls up at Pasadena Preschool/College.

"What's happening here today" Leonard said

"Some actress is coming to shoot a commercial with us"

"Doctor Cooper"

"Yes"

"Your daughter has been chosen to be the main child in the commercial"

"She has, well honey looks like you get to meet the actress"

"Great" Anna said as she marched off in a huff towards her friends

"She will be famous"

"She already is to me"

"Goodbye Anna"

"Bye Dad"

"O here comes the actress now" the teacher said running over to where a limo had just turned into the front of the school parking in front of the reception building

"We should stay and watch"

"Leonard we have more important things to do"

"Please Sheldon"

"Leonard get in the car"

Leonard and Sheldon drove off without seeing who the actress was.

The limo came to a halt and the driver got out and opened the door, the makeup people rushed over to the car ready to get to work as the agent got out.

A few moments later, Penny emerged from the car, looking around. "This way Penny, we will get you ready for the shoot".

Over on the other side of the car park, an assistant director was leading a teacher and Anna to the make-up and wardrobe area they had set up for the kids.

"I want to get started in about 40 minutes so let's get this done people"


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Note: Thank you for the reviews, Leonard and Amy are angry for Sheldon, though there may be more to that. Anna and Penny have to learn to love each other. Sheldon is not angry because he has known more than everyone thought.**

**Disclaimer I do not know Big Bang, all I have is the story.**

"_I want to get started in about 40 minutes so let's get this done people"_

"Penny when you are ready we would like you to meet the young girl who will be sitting beside you while you say your lines"

"Ok Sure Keith"

The make-up artists swiftly finished Penny's make up and she was led to a room over to the side where the little girl was being made ready

Penny's assistant Ruby opened the door to let Penny in, just as she entered she caught the reflection of the girl in the mirror, she froze

"Anna" she thought

Ruby noticed that Penny had stopped and was frozen

"Penny are you ok"

"Ruby, you know who I told you I am married but because I was afraid that I would be trapped, I had run away"

"Yes, you also told me that is the greatest regret of your life"

"That girl is Anna my daughter"

"Oh crap"

"Yes maybe she will not recognise me"

At that moment the teacher began to turn Anna in her chair

"Anna this is the actress, her name is Penny"

Anne smiled as she turned but her smile quickly faded when she saw Penny before her.

"Good morning Madam" she said coldly

"Good Morning"

"Anna my name is Anna" she said _stupid bitch cannot even remember her daughter's name _she thought pasting a fake smile on her face, she knew she must not misbehave as it would reflect badly on her father.

"Hello Anna" Penny said unsure what to do next

"Maybe we give them a couple of minutes to get to know each other alone" said the Director "Someone will come get you when we are ready"

"Now behave Anna" said the teacher as she began to leave

Ruby gave Penny touch on the shoulder knowing that this was going to be hard

"Well how you are Anna" she said once the door closed

"Why do you care?"

"What!"

"Why do you care, you selfish bitch, you walked out my father and left me"

"Anna I do not believe this is the place for me to explain myself to you"

"Why because you're five year old daughter might want to know what made her mother leave"

"Young Lady I do not think Sheldon would approve of your behaviour"

"No he would not because even today he still loves you"

"He loves me"

"Yes He does but I hate you"

"You hate me"

"Yes my wonderful caring mother"

"Sarcasm"

"Gee she can recognise Sarcasm, maybe she is not as dumb as I was led to believe"

"You are rude"

"You are an immature bitch"

"I am sorry that I was not mature enough to handle being a mother Anna"

"Yeah but you could certainly handle sleeping around on my father"

"Who said I did that"

"I may not be as smart as Dad but I am still pretty smart for my age, I read, Aunty Amy and Uncle Leonard told about your many boyfriends and how you are a big five o"

"Amy and Leonard"

"Yes, they told my father that you had probably slept with the first guy you met in a bar, Uncle Howard said you would not, he said that you were just afraid, Aunty Bernadette will not talk about you"

"Where's Raj"

"He's there but he cannot talk to me for some reason"

"Well Amy and Leonard are wrong"

"So it did not happen the first night, but you still slept with any guy you could"

"I have never cheated on your father"

"I do not believe you"

"I am not going stand here and explain myself to a rude five your girl, who should know it is better to question her parent and you should not listen to what other people say"

"That is what Dad and Uncle Howard would say but at least they care for me, more than you do, anyway you really have been a very loving mother haven't you"

"Anna I am your mother whether you like it or not"

"No you are the person who gave birth to me, my dad is the only parent I need, so let's just get this stupid commercial done and then you can crawl back under the rock you crawled out of"

"I WILL NOT"

"You will, what you are planning to just waltz right back into my father's life and expect me to love you"

"No Anna, I am going to see your father and talk, we are still married"

"Well do not expect me to stand by and let you hurt him again"

"I would not hurt him, I love him, and I never stopped"

"Well until you were out the door and then you never looked back"

There was a knock at the door "We ready for you"

"Well let's go out there and act civil"

"I'll behave but only for my father"

"Well I will meet you on the set"

"Good bye Mother" Anna said as she walked out the door

Penny stood trying to compose herself, she had not realised that her daughter hated her so much, she realised that getting back her family was going to be harder than she thought. She needed to speak to Sheldon.

"Penny they are ready" Ruby said

"Coming"

"You look like someone has ripped out your heart, was it that bad"

"It was worse, she really hates me"

"She's five"

"She is no ordinary five year old, she is a lot smarter and very stubborn"

"Stubborn, looks like she has gotten that from someone we know"

"Shut up"

"Come on, you have a job to do"

"Yes I do, can you do me a favour, ring Caltech and see if Sheldon will see me after this"

"He has always said when you were ready to come see him"

"I know and I have come so close so many times"

"What has stopped you?"

"I am I good enough for him"

"He loves you and stayed married to you"

"Sheldon would not break a contract"

"No but you did and that would have been grounds for getting a divorce"

"How am I going to explain all those men?"

"Penny. Half of them were gay and you only did what the studio wanted you to do, you never slept with any of them and you never took a man home"

"Yes but Anna is so convinced I did"

"You're my boss and my sister, I do not know how you could stay celibate for five years with all the good looking guys who were at your disposal but you did"

"Yes but then I had a relative who certainly indulged in a few"

"It would have been a terrible waste"

"So you say"

"Well let's get out there and be brilliant, I will ring Sheldon and see if he has the time"

"Okay wish me luck"

"Luck"

Penny walked off towards the set, walking to Anna who it seemed was willing to be nice so that the shoot could happen.

Ruby walked away from the set and dialled a number

"Dr Sheldon Cooper"

"Sheldon its Ruby"

"Hello Ruby, what do I owe this call, normally I do not hear from you until Wednesday"

"We have some progress on the Penny front"

"Yes"

"She wants to talk to you"

"I see, well of course where should we meet"

"We will be at Caltech in about an hour and half"

"Ok, I will make time in my schedule"

"I think she nearly ready Sheldon"

"You have been a good friend to her Ruby, I hope she will not be angry with you when she finds out what you have done all these years"

"She won't, I think she wanted me to keep you informed of what she was doing, it keep her together, and she really misses you'

"And I miss her, though I am afraid that Anna will not respond to well"

"Well I can tell you she has not"

"Please explain"

"Penny is shooting a commercial at the school"

"So that was her that arrived when we dropped Anna off"

"Yes"

"Oh dear Anna was chosen to be the school's main child"

"Yep and the two had a little private meeting before the shoot"

"Oh no, how did it go"

"Not good, I believe that mother and daughter did not get along" Ruby said "It seems that Penny has the same relationship she has with her mother"

"Oh dear"

"Sheldon, we will put your family back together like it should have been"

"Yes and thank you for your support"

"No problem, my sister was not going to throw away the best thing that could happen to her if I could do something about it" Ruby said " and my niece is going to have accept her mother and my sister is going to have to get along with her daughter"

"Now that will be a challenge"

"We will succeed even I have to go junior rodeo on the both of them"

"It would seem that rodeo is really a Queen family activity"

"You bet ya Sheldon Cooper, I will catch ya later, bye for now"

"Goodbye Ruby Queen"

Ruby hung up and walked over to the set, it was going to take a lot of work to get her sister and niece to patch up their differences and she hoped that Sheldon was ready for a long hard slog.


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors Note: Thank you for the reviews, **

**Disclaimer I do not know Big Bang, all I have is the story.**

"_Goodbye Ruby Queen"_

Sheldon put his mobile down on the desk, he thought a moment about the conversation he had with Leonard on the way over to the university

"Leonard I have something I wish to discuss"

"Sure Sheldon what is it"

"The way you and Amy talk about Penny, especially when Anna is around"

"I am sorry Sheldon but we are speaking the truth"

"You might see it as the truth Leonard, but one day Penny may re-enter our lives and Anna has been repeating quite a bit of language you both have been using"

"I see"

"She is only 5 and though smarter than an average child, she will still mimic the language adult's use around her"

"But Sheldon Penny was is a bitch for what she has done"

"That is your opinion and for the record one I do not share"

"You mean you were not hurt by what she did"

"I never said that Leonard, I am hurt, am still hurt, but I also still love her as much as I did then, my desire is for her to return and be a mother to Anna" Sheldon replied "If that means she will not be my wife as well then I am willing to try to smother my feelings"

"If she does not come back as your wife Sheldon then she should not have any relationship with Anna"

"Leonard she is her mother, which has not changed, she has a right to be in her life"

"What so she can come and go when she feels it is too much"

"No"

"Well if she could not handle then what makes you think she would now"

"I do not know Leonard, but I am at least willing to let her try when the time comes"

"Penny does not care for anyone but herself, remember Sheldon I dated her, she is selfish" Leonard said as he parked the car

"I will see ya at lunch Sheldon, have a good day"

"_Penny does not care for anyone but herself, remember Sheldon I dated her, she is selfish"_ Sheldon went over the statement in his mind

"That is not true" Sheldon thought "Penny is a caring and loving person, she just got scared"

At that moment there was a knock at the door

"Come in" Sheldon said thinking it was strange that Penny had arrived already

"Morning Sheldon" Wil Wheaton said entering the room

"Good Morning Wil, why are you visiting me?"

"I need a favour Sheldon"

"You do"

"Yes, I have a role in a movie coming up which involved physics and I was wondering if you would be kind enough to help me out"

"Wil we may have had our differences in the past but Penny told me that you were reacting to my behaviour and she said you were a good man"

"Thanks Sheldon"

"And seeing that you are no longer on my enemies list, I would be glad to assist you"

"Well how about on the weekend, I come over to your place and my Anne will look after your Anne while you help me"

"That would be fine"

"Say 10:30am Saturday"

"That would be appropriate as it will still allow me time to prepare for laundry night"

"Well see ya then"

"Yes see you on Saturday"

Just before Wil Wheaton closed the door, he said "you know Penny was filming down the road at the school"

"Yes Ruby called me"

"It not the school Anna goes to"

"Affirmative"

"Oh dear"

"Yes, apparently they had quite a reunion, I suspect that I will need to have another talk to Anna about some of the words she used and their actual meaning"

"She can be a spitfire that little one, and so can her mother"

"Yes a trait they both have in common"

"Well have a good day Sheldon, I hope Penny comes to visit, she needs to repair what she has done"

"Yes we need to all repair our relationships with each other, Penny and mine, Penny and Anna and Anna and myself"

"You and Anna have a great relationship"

"Our relationship is not as it should be, I am not the father I should be to that girl"

"I would disagree"

"I love her and care for her, but I needed Penny to understand her, she confuses me and I her. "

"I think you are good father Sheldon"

"Well good day I have to be across town for an interview" Wil said as he closed the door

At the school the shoot was going better than Ruby would have expected, it seemed that while in real life Penny and Anna did not get along, they could function as a duo when it was make believe. Even the hug at the end of the shoot seemed to be real.

Ruby knew Penny deeply regretted the past and based on Penny and their mother, Anna probably was torn between wanting her mother's love and wanting to hurt her as well.

Penny walked over to Ruby and said "Well that is over with, did it look ok"

"It looked fine"

"She is so beautiful and smart"

"Yes she is"

Tears began to form in Penny's eyes as she watched Anna being led away to go back to school, part of her wished she could spend more time with her and part of her was afraid that she would do more harm than good.

"Well Penny better get your out of that stuff and over to Caltech to see that husband of yours"

"Well I hope our reunion will be better"

"It will do not worry"

"I am not worried as such, I know you have been keeping in touch with Sheldon"

"What"

"Are you denying it?"

"No but I did not think you knew"

"I knew and I am glad you did, I was a fool to run away from him, you keeping him in the loop and allowing him to be part of my life even though at the distance, means I have a chance"

"Well that is up to you two"

Over in the school yard, Anna was approached by her friend Clare

"Wow you got to film things with the actress"

"Yes"

"You do not look happy"

"No I am not"

"Why"

"Because she is my mother"

"Your mom"

"Yes"

"So has she come back?"

"I do not know"

"How do you feel?"

"Sad"

"Why"

"I miss her"

"Did you tell her?"

"No"

"Why not"

"Because I got mad and said things, bad things"

"What things"

"Words I heard others say about her"

"Oh"

"Yeah I probably made her hate me more"

"She is your mother, she loves you, come on let's play"

Anna followed her friend over to the swings, she wondered if her mother did love her, she was so confused, her mother was bad because people told her so, but her Dad still loved her. Anna was so upset that tears welled up in her eyes.

Wiping them away she ran over and pushed the boy out of the way that was teasing her friend, if he did not stop it then she would make him pay.


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors Note: Thank you for the reviews, **

**Disclaimer I do not know Big Bang, all I have is the story.**

Penny stopped and watched Anna play for a little while, she seemed to have some friends both boys and girls, she seemed to be happy. Penny wondered about all the things that she had missed out in the past five years, the birthdays, and the first times. It was hard as part of her wished that she could have been there and that voice that she had to do something with her life and be the star she set out to be. Penny sighed as she walked over to the limo and climbed inside.

Anna turned and saw her mother leaving, part of her wanted to go and say goodbye but the larger part was too angry, too hurt by what her mother had done. Anna wished someone would tell her what to do, she was so confused. Some adults told her to hate and other told her that she was to love. Which was right.

Anna watched as the large car drove away heading in the direction of the university that her father worked, maybe her mother was going to see her Dad, and maybe things would change. Anna wanted her mother back and she wanted her father happy.

Penny sat in the back of the limo with Ruby, she could not understand why Amy and Leonard had said those things about her. Right at that time her mobile rang, it was Amy.

Penny did not know what to do, should she pick up and ask Amy what the deal was, well at least she could answer the phone for now and see where the conversation went.

"Penny Cooper"

"Bestie, how are you"

"I am fine" Penny lied "Just finished a commercial shoot at a local school"

"Oh, how did it go?"

"It was good, but the funny thing was" Penny said deciding if she was to get her family back, she needed to fight for them "They chose a little girl to appear alongside me"

"Well that would have been interesting"

"Yes it was and you know what was even more interesting"

"What"

"It was my daughter Anna"

"Oh"

"Had an interesting conversation with her, Amy"

"Yes I did"

"It would seem that some people you might know, have been telling my daughter what a bad person I am, calling me slut and whore, saying that I betrayed her father"

"I ummm"

"Amy why did you and Leonard say those things"

"Because she is better off without you"

"Who gives you the right to say that?"

"We care for her, more than you have Penny"

"I may not have been a very good mother Amy but that was because I was afraid, not because I do not love Sheldon or her"

"Look Penny, stay away from Sheldon and Anna"

"Why"

"Because they are better off without you"

"What my daughter is better off with people who fill her mind with hate and anger"

"Well it is better than being the one who hurt her"

"That is between me and her, you do not get to decide our relationship"

"Penny you will not get back into their lives, if that is your intention, everyone will stop you"

"Leonard, me and Bernadette"

"Is that so?"

"Yes so go back to your parties, your meaningless sex and your drugs and leave those two alone"

"They are my family Amy and you three will not stop me getting them back"

"You really think that a dumb actress like you can compete against three brilliant people like us, oh please Penny give up before you make an even bigger ass of yourself"

"You will not stop me" Penny said tears filling her eyes

"We will, goodbye Penny and get lost bitch"

Amy hung up the phone, Penny stared at the phone, tears streaming down her face. Ruby moved to next to her putting her arms around her.

"Penny what is wrong"

"You know how Amy and Bernadette have been keeping in touch"

"Yes"

"Well it seems that it was only to keep me away, so they could keep me out of Sheldon and Anna's life"

"Penny"

"I do not know what I am going to do, what if they are right and I will be more harm than good in their lives"

"Penny Cooper, believe in Sheldon and Anna, believe that they can love you and do love you"

"But Ruby, what if I cannot fix this"

"Penny, I have one question to ask you and one only"

"Do you believe that Doctor Sheldon Cooper would give up on you?"

"No Sheldon would never give up or walk out on a friend, only Penny Cooper does that"

"Bullshit, you were not ready that is all, you needed to find who you were, if you had stayed you would have destroyed your relationship with Sheldon due to your unhappiness"

"Are you sure"

"The Sheldon Lee Cooper I call my brother in law and who I also call my friend, would not have let Penny be unhappy"

"You are right, he would have tried to fix it"

"Another question and probably the most important one, do you believe that Anna Lee Cooper daughter of Dr Sheldon Cooper and the love of his life Penny Marie Queen would not do everything in her heart and mind to bring her parents together again"

"Maybe I do not know her that well"

"Well for what Sheldon has told me, she is a stubborn pain in the ass like someone I know and love, she is smart and determined, if anyone tried to stop her from getting what she wanted, then they are a bigger fool than you were back then"

"Ruby can I make it work"

"What is this I bullshit"

"It is up to me"

"Yes you need to get back into their lives, little sister, but the three of you need to fight for your family together, yes it will be hard, and it is going to hurt"

"I want it bad"

"Then take it, I will have the backs of my sister, niece and brother in law, let those three mess with the Queens and the Coopers, I am pretty sure Missy will join in the fight as well"

"I though Missy hated me"

"She hated you when you left, Sheldon and Meemaw set her straight, and she has your back, though if she saw you like this she may kick your ass"

"Well I will do my best"

"You better sister you better"

"Ok I need to clean my face before I see Sheldon"

"Well do it, Queen P"

Penny grabbed the cloth and other cleaning things they always kept with them. She make herself look a little better and looked out the window counting down the time until she began her quest.

" No they would not stop her, not without one hell of a fight"

Leonard looked out the window of his office after speaking to Amy on the phone, he saw the limo turning into the university grounds, and he quickly made his way out the door and started to the reception. Penny may arrive at the university but she was not going to see Sheldon.


	6. Chapter 6

**Authors Note: Thank you for the reviews, I want to apologise before Bernadette and Howard relationship takes a hit, they will not get divorced but they will get mad at each other, please do not hate me too much.**

**Disclaimer I do not know Big Bang, all I have is the story.**

_Leonard looked out the window of his office after speaking to Amy on the phone, he saw the limo turning into the university grounds, and he quickly made his way out the door and started to the reception. Penny may arrive at the university but she was not going to see Sheldon._

Penny nervously played with her ring as the limo drove up the physics building at Caltech, looking down she realised that it was her wedding ring that she seem to be preoccupied with. Ruby looked at her sister for a moment, worried that after the conversation with Amy that she may back out again.

As the car came to a stop in front the reception, Ruby reached and squeezed Penny's hand. Penny looked and smiled to her sister as she prepared to leave the car.

"Good Luck Sis"

"Thanks Ruby"

"We will be back in about an hour, call if you want to be picked up sooner or if you want to stay longer."

"Ok hopefully it will be longer"

"You'll do fine"

Penny nodded as she got out of the car and made her way across to the front doors, turning before she entered she waved to Ruby as the limo drove off. Taking a sec to compose herself she opened the door and entered.

Unbeknownst to Penny, Leonard was waiting for her.

"Well look who came down from the mountain to visit the little people"

"Hello Leonard"

"Well Hello Penny" Leonard smirked "What are you hear for"

"I came to see Sheldon"

"I do not think so Penny"

"What"

"I do not think you should see Sheldon"

"Why not, he is my husband last time I checked"

"Well maybe it would be better for Sheldon if he was not her husband"

"Looking after Sheldon's interest Leonard, that would be a first"

"I just think he would be better without a wife like you"

"Like me"

"Yes Penny a pathetic sleazy user"

"Gee Leonard "Bros before Hoes "Hofstadter calling me names"

"Look Penny, Sheldon should not have married you, you were beneath him"

"Why Leonard because you prefer my beneath you as on my back giving you sex"

"I am with a better woman name and we are about to have a beautiful baby boy who will be smart as well"

"Poor Anna, my daughter will chased after by another Hofstadter will mommy issues"

"Anna would be make my son a wonderful wife"

"My daughter is not marrying any offspring of yours Leonard"

"You will have no say Penny, she is Sheldon's daughter"

Penny laughed "Then there is no way our daughter would be allowed to date your son, Sheldon always thought you were pathetic"

"Well her mother dated me"

"I was drunk most of the time"

"Anyway I have a real woman now"

"Ok Leonard, it was nice talking to you, but I am going to see Sheldon"

"No you're not"

"I am"

Penny went to go pass Leonard who grabbed her arm and pushed her back towards to the door.

"Hey"

"I said you are not welcome here, now leave"

"I will not Leonard, now get out of my way before I kick your puny ass"

"Guards could you remove this woman, she is harassing me"

"Excuse me Miss but you need to leave"

"I am here to see my husband"

"Sure miss"

"My name is Penny Cooper"

"Yeah we all know that Dr Cooper's wife left him and his daughter years ago, she was beautiful"

"Penny"

"Howard"

"It okay guys this is Sheldon's wife"

"Well she was harassing Doctor Hofstadter"

"He wishes" Howard smirked "I will take you through to Sheldon"

"Howard, you will not and I will tell Bernadette that you interfered"

"Leonard, go fuck yourself, and if Bernadette wants to say anything then she can say it to my face"

"Oh grown some balls Howard" Leonard remarked

"I always had more than you Leonard" Howard replied "Go call Bernadette and Amy, I do not give a crap, Bernadette knows how I feel about this situation"

"And what's that"

"That this is between Sheldon and Penny, no one else. I will say what I said to her, if you want me to be your friend, leave them alone and support them"

"Howard, Bernadette is going to kick your puny ass"

"Well fine, she can try and you can try, but I am standing by my friends"

"Maybe Bernadette would be better with Raj"

"Well if Bernadette loves me then she will respect my decision, if she is as shallow as you and Amy and I believe she is not, then she can go and be with Raj, but Raj would not even have anything to do with her if that was the case."

"You will be sorry Howard"

"I am sorry, I am sorry that I never saw that problems Penny was having, I am sorry that I never helped Sheldon get away from you and Amy, I am sorry I have been a bad god parent to Anna. But no more Leonard, NO FUCKING MORE, if it costs me my marriage then I am willing to make the sacrifice, I will help Penny and Sheldon be together, I will help Anna and Penny repair their relationship and I will change my wife's view on this, so just try and stop me you fucking ugly pathetic little troll, just try"

"I have no need to dirty myself with some lowly engineer, but you will not be taking Penny through"

"Watch me"

Howard moved forward and shoved Leonard into the side of the couch in the foyer, sending him stumbling over onto the floor. He then grabbed Penny's hand and led her out of the reception area into the hallway.

"I am sorry for the harm that Bernadette has done"

"Howard, I am sorry for all the things I said to you in the past"

"Do not be, I was an ass and deserved every time you went junior rodeo on me"

"You are a good friend"

"I hope to be one day"

"You are now, I hope this is not going to make things rough for you with Bernadette"

"It might, but I need to stand up for what I believe is right"

"But"

"No Buts Penny "Howard said as he led her through the halls towards Sheldon's office "You were always meant for Sheldon, he was your soul mate, not Leonard"

"Yes Bernadette and you were also meant to be together, I am not worth ruining your marriage"

"If my marriage cannot survive this then it was not a marriage"

"You are a wise man Howard"

"No Penny I have just finally grown up"

"Well here we are, go get yourself your man back"

"Thanks Howard"

"My Pleasure my Cheesecake Goddess"

"Howard" Penny laughed

"Hey one for one times"

"Just one"

Howard left and headed back to the engineering department

Penny stood at the door for a moment then

Knock Knock Knock

"Sheldon"

Knock Knock Knock

"Sheldon"

Knock Knock Knock

"Sheldon"

Penny waited and watched as the door knob turned


	7. Chapter 7

**Authors Note: Penny and Sheldon meet**

**Disclaimer I do not know Big Bang, all I have is the story.**

_Penny stood at the door for a moment then_

_Knock Knock Knock_

"_Sheldon"_

_Knock Knock Knock_

"_Sheldon"_

_Knock Knock Knock_

"_Sheldon"_

_Penny waited and watched as the door knob turned_

The door opened and Sheldon looked at Penny

"Hello Penny"

"Hello Sheldon"

"Please come in"

Penny entered the office, suddenly she felt as if she wanted to grab Sheldon around the neck and plant the most passionate kiss that she could on him but she knew that while Sheldon may be willing, they needed to mend their relationship first.

"Sheldon, I am sorry about leaving you five years ago"

"I am sorry also that I was not a good enough husband to see you were struggling"

"Sheldon you did nothing wrong" Penny said "You would not have known, I did not really know until I fled"

"I read your letter Penny"

"Sheldon I have had five years to think about this, that letter was a pathetic reason to walk away from a wonderful husband"

"But Penny I do not understand"

"Understand Moopi, Sheldon"

"You can call me Moonpie Penny, you are my wife"

"I have no right to call you Moonpie, Sheldon, I have not earned the right to call you that again and to do so what be insult to your Meemaw"

"Penny"

"No Sheldon, please I know you bear no ill but I have to do this my way ok, I need to earn your trust, your love and I need to deserve to be a mother to Anna"

"Penny, you never lost my trust or my love"

"I should have, I deserved nothing less"

"Penny we got married then you fell pregnant and had Anna, when we married we wanted you to continue your career"

"I know Sheldon"

"Yes but in all that had happened, you became the one thing we both did not want you to be, you became Dr Sheldon Cooper wife and Anna's mother, you lost the identity that made you special"

"Sheldon those things should have made me special, I was selfish I wanted to be a big actress and be famous"

"And you are those things"

"Yes but those things mean nothing"

"I do not understand, it is what you wanted"

"Yes I wanted them things but when I finally got them there was something missing"

"A car with the engine light fixed"

"SHELDON"

"Gee I finally develop some good humour and you do not like it"

"I am serious Sheldon, it was not what I hoped for because you were not there" Penny said tears beginning to form "I had everything I came to California for, I am famous, obviously not famous enough that the guard here do not know who I am but famous, rich, with a big house, dogs, horses but no one who loved me for me"

"You have two people who could provide that"

"I had one Sheldon, Anna was too young and now I have messed her up so bad, I may never be able to repair the damage"

"You had all those men you were dating"

"Sheldon you know very well all about those men, I know my sister Ruby has been talking to you every Wednesday at 5pm"

"You do"

"Yes she is about as good as being a sneak than you are at keeping a secret"

"Oh"

"Yes"

"Then why have you waited until now to make contact"

"I do not know Sheldon, pride, I am stupid"

"PENNY YOU ARE NOT STUPID"

"Ok sorry Sheldon, but I walked away from you that was stupid, I left you to care for an eight month old baby"

"I survived, we survived, though Penny having to care for a mini version of you can be pretty daunting, I have new respect for your father"

"Well consider living with the two of us"

"With pleasure"

"Well we are a long way off from that, you and I may be close but Anna and me we are no way even on the same page"

"You spoke to Anna this morning"

"Fought more like it, where did she learn to speak like that"

"She seems to like using words that people use to relate to others, I have spoken to her about it before and told her it is not right, unfortunately the people across the hall are not as responsible when they talk about you outside the apartment or when I am not present"

"I have gathered that Amy, Bernadette and Leonard have formed a group to do me wrong"

"No Penny they have formed an alliance to ensure that you do not weasel your way back into my life"

"You know"

"Yes I am not stupid though those three seem to be convinced I am"

"But"

"But why have I not cut them off, Penny while they may be morons, they are still friends, not good ones I must say, also Howard has been a real friend as has Wil Wheaton, I do not want to cause stress to Howard's relationship"

"I believe Howard is prepared to redefine his relationship with Bernadette as he feels that she has been corrupted by others"

"Ok but please protect him"

"I shall and hopefully within six months he will be a Doctor like us"

"He is getting his Doctorate"

"Yes, please do not tell anyone"

"Why"

"One day Bernadette and the Hofstadter's were very demeaning to Howard about his lack of a Doctorate"

"So have you"

"Yes unfortunately I have been, during that incident, they referred to him being no better than the uneducated bitch you were, I am sorry but while I do not like that description it is what was said"

Penny stays silent waiting for Sheldon to continue

"Well I spoke up saying that you were not stupid or were you uneducated, you were more educated in areas where I was not, Howard I also said had achieved things that never of the three of them had done"

"Then what happened"

"The usual stuff about me being socially retarded from Amy and Leonard, the next day I asked Howard if he would like my assistance in obtaining his doctorate, offering to pay of course so that Bernadette would not be worried where the money would come from"

"That was nice Sheldon but we were have gotten off the track"

"Anna"

"Yes"

"Penny I will do all that I can to help you with Anna but…"

"In the end it is up to me and her"

"Precisely"

"Would you like to have dinner somewhere tonight" Penny thought "So we could talk and so Anna and I could try to be a family with you helping us?"

"I would love that Penny"

"Well how about 6pm tonight, Ruby will come as well so she can meet her niece and maybe allow us to talk some more"

"That would be nice"

"Sheldon I know you have a lot of work to do, but could I just sit here and read something and just be here with you"

"Penny that would make me very happy"

"Thank you Sheldon"

"Do you want to eat lunch with Howard, Alex and Raj?"

"Alex?"

"Yes her and Raj have formed a friendship, though Howard and myself believe Alex would like more but Raj is Raj"

"Still cannot talk to the woman"

"He has improved but still has trouble with the feelings and telling Alex how much he likes her"

"Well maybe I can help"

"Penny"

"Sheldon"

"What am I going to do, you have to play matchmaker"

"Of course"

"Anna will probably be next"

"Maybe but not with the Hofstadter offspring"

"Definitely not"

Sheldon showed Penny some of the books he had, there was some science fiction that Penny thought she might be able to read, and not that reading was what she planned to do. She just wanted to be with Sheldon.

"I should point out the cafeteria food in not great"

"Hey one day I will shout the four of you to a meal with a difference"

"Umm ok"

"Relax Sheldon I know what the requirement will be"

"I know you do"

Sheldon turned back to the board and Penny laid down on the couch, to them both it felt so natural and calming that it was like they had not been apart.

Penny made a quick call to tell Ruby to come back at 1 as she was eating lunch with Sheldon

But for the next two hours she was back with her man, all she needed now was to reconnect with a daughter she did not really know.


	8. Chapter 8

**Authors Note: Ruby has a chat with a little girl and Lunchtime**

**Disclaimer I do not know Big Bang, all I have is the story.**

While Penny was at Caltech, Ruby got dropped off back at the school, what Penny did not know was that while the shoot was on, Ruby had asked if it was possible for her to spend some time with Anna in the staff lunchroom.

While the request had seemed strange, Ruby explained she was her aunt and got them to check with Sheldon. Ruby sat patiently in the lunch room waiting for Anna to arrive.

"I hope ya know what you doing Ruby" she thought to herself

At that moment Anna was led in by a teacher.

"I will be sitting over in the corner Ms Queen"

"Ok thank you, Hello Anna I'm your Aunty Ruby"

"Yes I know who you are, Aunty Missy showed me a picture of you"

"She did, I hope I looked ok"

"Yes you were beautiful"

"Why thank you sweetie"

"Why do you want to talk to me, have I done something wrong"

"Oh no sweetie, I thought we could talk because you and your momma did not have a good first meeting"

"I am sorry but I do not know what to do with my momma"

"Sweetie you do not have to do anything you are not happy with"

"Do you know why she does not love me?"

"Honey, your momma Penny loves you a lot, she really does"

"Then why did she leave"

"Sweetie I cannot really tell you that, she needs to, your Momma has always found it tough to feel loved and to be able to fit in"

"I find it hard as well, I am smarter than the other kids, and they make fun of me"

"Oh sweetie"

"My dad says that he had a rough time as well, it wasn't to momma came along and became his friend that he felt loved by anyone but family"

"I promise" Ruby said beginning to cry "I promise you Anna that I am going to get your parents back together and help your momma love you the way she can, I promise you"

"Aunty Ruby, why does Leonard and Amy say those things about my momma"

"Well you see Leonard use to be your momma boyfriend and Amy use to be your papa's girlfriend, I think they were not happy with your parents falling in love"

"But why be mean should you not be happy for them"

"Anna as you get older you going to find that people sometimes just cannot let go of things"

"Like my baby blanket, Dad says that I am old enough that I do not need my blanket anymore, but I do not want to let it go"

"Something like"

Just then Ruby's mobile goes off

"Hi Penny"

"Oh you are staying to have lunch with Sheldon, that's great"

"We are having dinner somewhere with Sheldon and Anna, okay well I hope "she winks at Anna "she likes your ugly Aunty"

"See ya at 1pm out the front of the building"

"Bye"

"Well Anna it looks like we might be having a family dinner"

"Ok I will try and be nice to my mom but I just get angry, plus you are not ugly Aunty Ruby and neither is my mom"

"Anna you need to tell your momma that"

"Do you know why Bernadette is angry at momma?"

"I have never met her sweetie but your Dad told me once he thinks that Bernadette was really hurt that your momma did not come to her before she ran away and that she made Bernadette keep secrets from your Dad"

"I do not like it that Bernadette and Howard are fighting because of mom"

"They will be alright honey, your Dad says Howard would never leave or hurt Bernadette, he just wants her to understand what your mother went through"

"Yes but I heard Leonard and Amy tell Bernadette that she should dump Howard and get a real man, what did they mean?"

"Thank you for telling me because we will tell your parents this tonight ok, they should not be interfering in other people's lives like that, it is very wrong"

"What is junior rodeo?"

"It was something your momma was brilliant at and something she should tell ya about?"

"Ok"

"Well I will let you go back to class young lady, be good"

"I will, can we talk again"

"Sweetie, I hope this is the first of many talks, I am hoping you, and I and your momma can have girly days and fun times in the future"

"I would like that but I need to talk with momma and dad, I think I need to get to know who my mother really is not just what I have heard"

"You are a smart little girl"

"No I just listen to Dad, but please do not tell him because when he is right, he can be a pain in the butt"

Ruby laughed and gave Anna a hug then a kiss on cheek

"I love you Anna Blossom"

"Love ya too Aunt Ruby"

Anna walked over to the teacher and was led out of the room. Ruby waited a minute and then go up and walked to her car. She had about 3 hours until she needed to pick up Penny, so she thought she might need some new shoes for tonight and she might get Penny some too.

It was nearing lunchtime back at Caltech, when there was a knock at the door.

"Sheldon"

"Hello Raj and Alex"

"Time for lunch"

"Hello Raj, Hello Alex"

"PENNY"

"In the flesh, you do not mind that I join you for lunch"

"No certainly not but the food may not be that great" said Alex

"I have already informed her of that Alex"

"Of course"

"Howard joining us" enquired Penny

"Right here" Howard said sticking her head in the door

"If we hurry we can get our table and really upset Leonard"

"ALEX"

"Well Penny eating with us will make him eat elsewhere and I for one am sick of hearing about how he and Amy are going to have a smart and beautiful baby, I nearly threw up my lunch yesterday"

"Well let's go before we miss our seats"

They made their way to the cafeteria, got there food and sat at the guys usual table, a few people were staring at them.

"Well either they recognise Penny the famous actress or Penny Dr Cooper wife, really do know how you put up with people staring" Howard said

"It get easier over time" Penny replied

Just then Leonard walked in the door

"What's she doing here at our table?"

"Well Leonard, it would seem that Penny is eating food and talking to us, then if time permits Penny and I might go back to my office and see if we can conceive another child" Sheldon replied

Penny and the rest of the table stared at Sheldon, not really believing what he just said

"What so she can run away again and leave you with another baby"

"Leonard you will address my wife with respect"

"No" Leonard said "She does not deserve any"

"Well neither do you"

"Sheldon tell your assistant to kindly address we by my title"

"Which one Leonard Dr Troll or Mr Whiney" Howard replied

"Yes and further more Leonard, Alex will complete her doctorate soon and will achieve more than you have since you graduated" Raj replied

"Wow Raj speaks, you must be even better in bed than I remember"

"That's it" Penny said standing up " Leonard you do not like me and I loathe you but either you piss off and leave us alone or I will make sure that only way Amy will get sex is with one of her monkeys"

"I am not scared of you Penny"

"You better be, because I am back and if you mess with my husband, my daughter or our friends, you will deal with me"

"Oh I am so scared"

"If you are not scared Leonard" Sheldon said "Why did you move away when Penny got up?"

"Because I won't' hit a woman"

"Well I have no problem belting a troll"

"Bitch" Leonard said going to grab some food and leading out of the cafeteria

"Penny please sit"

"Sheldon, why do you put up with him?"

"Penny Penny Penny"

"Sheldon Sheldon Sheldon"

"Man it seems like one time" Howard quipped

"My mother always said that I must look out for the lesser things in life, and Leonard and Amy qualify"

"But he only cares for Leonard"

"Well at least someone cares for him then"

"Sheldon"

"Penny eat your meal, enjoy the company, do not let Leonard or anyone spoil today, we have started on bringing our family back together, we need to focus on that or have you changed your mind"

"No Sheldon, more than anything including an Oscar, I want my family back together"

"Well I want it more than the Nobel Prize, though I know I will achieve both and so will you"

"You are so sure of it aren't you"

"Penny as I said on our wedding day, together there is nothing we cannot achieve"

"AMEN" said Raj, Howard and Alex

"Amen" said Penny

For the next 30 minutes all that people hear from the table was laughter and joy as Penny reconnected with old and new friends and a husband she had left behind


	9. Chapter 9

**Authors Note: **

**Disclaimer I do not own Big Bang, all I have is the story.**

**Later than day**

Bernadette answered her phone

"Hello Bernadette"

"Penny"

"We need to talk face to face"

"Penny I really do not believe that we should"

"Why Bernadette"

"Because I have nothing nice to say"

"Well then say it to my face"

"What so you can go all junior rodeo on me"

"No I want to talk to you, I want to find out why you hate me so much"

"You left them Penny, two people who needed you more than you know, they were lost without you"

"I cannot change the past Bernadette, but I want to be part of their future"

"Well I cannot let you, I care for Sheldon and Anna so much"

"So do I, I love them, I was so wrong to leave"

"But you did leave Penny, like you always did, you ran away when the going got tough"

"Ok I did Bernadette. I ran away, I am pathetic is that what you want to hear"

"No I want to hear that you will go away and never bother them again"

"No Bernadette, I will not"

"Then I will make you"

"Bernadette I will say this once and once only, you will not stand between Sheldon and me, nor will you stand between Anna and me as well"

"I am not afraid of you Penny"

"Bernadette I do not understand your hatred"

"You were selfish"

"I was but I do not understand this level of hatred you have, Leonard and Amy were hurt when Sheldon and myself got together, we did not mean to hurt them it happened, we were meant to be"

"I do not care about any reasons they have to hate you"

"Then why"

"You had everything Penny, a wonderful husband"

"So do you"

"You have a wonderful daughter, if I had a child like Anna, I would give up the world for her"

"You and Howard will have children"

"No we will not"

"What!"

"The Doctor say that is may be too dangerous for me to have a child, they do not think that my body would cope"

"Oh Bernadette I am so sorry"

"Why? It is due to a childhood illness, it is no one fault"

"Does Howard Know?"

"No and you better not tell him"

"I would never"

"You see why I hate you, you had something that I want so bad, and you tossed it away like it meant nothing, you do not deserve Anna, you do not deserve to be happy"

"Bernadette I have grown up a lot these five years, I know I threw away for fame and fortune something that was worth far more than that could ever be"

"I do not trust you Penny, I cannot not for Anna sake, and I will protect her with my life if I have to"

"I am not asking you to trust me Bernadette, all I am asking is the chance to fix this, to earn the right in your eyes to be her mother"

"I am sorry Penny right now I cannot"

"Well can you at least trust Sheldon and trust that Howard would never allow me to hurt her again, my sister Ruby will kill me if I screw this up, she has worked for five years with Sheldon to repair this, I cannot let them down"

"Your sister and Sheldon have been working together"

"With Howard and Wil Wheaton as well 'Penny added

"I ummm did not know"

"Neither did I, Bernadette, not until six months ago, she kept me in the dark for 4 and half years, stood by me, helped me, all the while with one objective in mind"

"Reunite you with your family"

"You see why I cannot let you stop me Bernadette, five years ago I messed up big, bigger than I have ever done, I forgot why I loved Sheldon, the man I loved more than anything, my best friend, and my first true love"

"But Leonard, Zack, all those other guys"

"I did not love them, I liked them, I liked sex, and it made me feel alive"

"Penny"

"Bernadette let me finish, please"

"Ok"

"I had Anna and felt so much joy, I had a child with the man I love, then I started listening to the old doubts, the old fears, I looked at my mother's relationship with me, I started to feel like she did, that she gave up her life for her children, I stewed and I stewed for 8 months, I fought it and fought it until I could not anymore, then I ran"

"Penny"

"I would have kept running if Sheldon had not rung Ruby"

"He did, why did he not tell us"

"Ruby told me that he believed it was his responsibility to help me, he had tried for months on his own, but when I left he reached out to Ruby as he knew she would not judge me like everyone else, he even arranged for Wil Wheaton to get me some acting jobs. I have a career because Sheldon love me so much that he was willing to lose me"

Bernadette felt her heart soften as she heard the anguish in Penny voice, she was so caught up in her own pain, she had not noticed

"I am sorry Penny"

"Please Bernadette do not be sorry for me, it took five years before I got to this stage, five fucking years, he waited and he looked after our daughter, you see I cannot fail, that man will not let me, I owe him everything"

"Does Sheldon know that you have found out?"

"No, when I realised what Ruby had been doing, I made her promise not to tell Sheldon, I have a goal Bernadette, whether I ever act again does not matter, I will be a wife to him, a mother to her and I will help Sheldon win the Nobel prize"

"All I ask is that you give me a chance to try"

"Penny, I will not interfere now that I know this, but I will come to their defence if you hurt them"

"I would not expect anything less, Bernadette"

Bernadette felt the tears beginning to form in her eyes

"Bernadette, I will add another goal right here right now, you will be a mother, I promise you, Howard and you deserve to be happy, I will use what contacts I have, what money I have, I will even carry your child for you if I have to"

"Penny thank you but that is mine and Howard's battle"

"You need to tell him and Sheldon, they will not stop until your dream can come true, I want you as my friend again, I will never run away again, no matter how hard it gets, I want to be the godmother to your child, I want to see you be the mother I know you are"

"Thank you Penny"

"Thank you for listening to me, I have to go now and get ready, I have a daughter love to win back"

"Penny, she is no ordinary five year old, I swear sometimes she is smarter than Sheldon"

"Look at her parent Bernadette, she better be, they are both quite a handful"

"Good Luck Penny"

"Thank you Bernadette"

Bernadette hung up the call, she sat for a while thinking of all the rage she had felt, it would take a while for her and Penny to be where they were but she knew this was not the old Penny, this was a newer improved version, Leonard and Amy were wrong, she would never hurt them. If anything she would give her life for them.

She grabbed her bag and headed out the door, she was going to Caltech, she had a husband to apologise to and some things she needed to share.


	10. Chapter 10

**Authors Note: **

**Disclaimer I do not own Big Bang, all I have is the story.**

_She grabbed her bag and headed out the door, she was going to Caltech, she had a husband to apologise to and some things she needed to share._

Howard was working in the lab on some new top secret gizmo for NASA when he heard the door open,

"Malcolm I told you not to interrupt me"

"Ok I can go with you want" Bernadette said

"Bernie. Sorry I thought it was one of the engineering students wanting more help"

"If you are busy"

"No come in and sit"

"Howard, I have something to tell you, and I want you to listen before you say anything"

"_Crap, she finally had enough of me "_Howard thought

"Sure Bernie, if that is what you want"

"Howard, stop worrying I can see it in your eyes, I am not leaving you"

"At this time"

"When will you get it, I love you, I will not leave you, you are as clueless as Sheldon sometimes"

"Maybe so but Penny did leave Sheldon"

"Yes she did, I spoke to her today"

"Oh dear"

"It was good Howard, you see I won Penny will not be having anything more to do with Anna or Sheldon, I put the bitch in her place"

"BERNADETTE"

"I am lying Howard"

"Oh"

"Now shut up and let me do this ok"

"I did speak to Penny today, it did not start off as a good conversation, but she made me realise something about myself and what I have been doing these five years"

Howard went to say something but kept his mouth shut

"Howard I love you and one of things that I want to do to show that love is to have your child, but my doctor has told me due to an illness that I had as a child, it is very dangerous for me to conceive, getting pregnant is ok but the my immune system may not cope with the pregnancy"

Bernadette paused for a second to compose herself

"When Penny ran away, I had just found out this, you remember I fell pregnant and had the miscarriage"

Howard nodded

"Well I was not in a good state emotionally, and when Penny took off as she did out of her own fears, well I just snapped inside, I could not understand how she could walk away from something I may never have, from Anna a helpless eight month old baby"

"I got so caught up in my grief at losing our child, at the possibility of never giving you children, I focused all my rage at Penny and committed myself to protecting Anna and Sheldon from her. I was speaking to Penny on and off over the years, planting seeds of doubt in her mind, deliberating doing everything I could to make sure she never came back into Anna"

Bernadette stopped for a moment, wiping the tears from her eyes, Howard moved towards her but she moved away

"I know you want to comfort me Howie, but I never to say all this, I need to be honest with you. I think that I feel in love with the idea of being Anna's new mother. I do not know if I would have left you for Sheldon but if he had not been so loyal to Penny and so in love with her, I could have done some stupid things to fill this void"

"Penny today made me admit, that I need help Howie, some serious help with this, but I also need you be with me because if I have to do this alone, then I will not make it"

Howard for a moment just looked at his feet for a moment

Bernadette waited for a moment and then said "Howard please say something"

"Bernadette, I love you more than anything, I am not the most attractive man, and I am a jerk, when you said you loved me my world changed in ways that I could not imagine. I was so afraid that I would stuff it up, but why do you not tell me this before now"

"Howard I could not, I was always told that I needed to be strong, I was so confused and the one person I could talk to was gone"

"Bernie, when I think of all the arguments about me standing by Sheldon, not wanting to punish Penny, if we had just talked, we may have saved ourselves all this pain"

"I am sorry Howie"

"Bernie I am not mad at you, I am mad at myself, I cannot believe I am about to say this again, but Sheldon was right"

"What do you mean?"

"I would talk to Sheldon after we fight about Penny, and he would say that he does not think you are angry like Amy and Leonard, that there was another reason"

"He did"

"Yes, I think that sometimes we all even Penny seem to think that Sheldon does not see things but I think he does, he sees more than most I guess"

"Bernie, we will beat this, you will be a mother, and I will do everything I need to do and more for you. I am sure Raj, Sheldon and even Penny will help you"

"She said so today"

"Hell I think even Anna would do everything she could do to help her Aunty Bernie"

"She is only five Howard"

"She is part Sheldon and part Penny, you have seen her, and I do not think she could fail at anything, she is just too stubborn, too smart and even at five she is turning into a heart breaker"

"She is beautiful"

"Yes and I believe that she will need a little Rostenkowski – Wolowitz to help her rule the world and keep the Hofstadter boy away from her"

"Amy is having a boy"

"I believe so, poor Anna"

"Maybe, he will, oh who I am I kidding, with Amy and Leonard as parents, the poor child will have no clue"

"Maybe but not if there are other people who help him figure it out"

"Howard"

"Look Bernadette, I do not think Amy or Leonard understand their hatred for Penny, I think they are still hurt and angry about what happened with them when they were dating the two of them."

"Howard it was not Sheldon and Penny fault that they fell in love"

"Yes but they could have handle it better, even Sheldon admits that"

"He does"

"They did not mean to cheat on them, from what Sheldon said they were fighting one minute about Penny's drinking and the next they were making out on her couch"

"What!"

"They tried to stop, you know those weeks where no one could figure out how come Penny would leave the room if Sheldon came in and he would do the same with her"

"I just figured they had another one of those fights"

"No they were avoiding having to deal with their feelings"

"Finally they just went for it, they were hurting inside, they tried to break it off with Amy and Leonard but you know those two as soon as Leonard or Amy got upset and gave them those sad fuck me eyes, they could not be so mean"

"They were weak"

"Exactly, why do you think they ran away to Vegas and got married with Ruby and Missy as witnesses and none of us?"

"They were spineless"

"True, they knew the only way they would be happy would be if they just went for it and dealt with the damage when they returned"

"Poor Penny"

"Yes it broke Sheldon's heart, that it seemed that all Leonard and Amy could do was blame Penny, she was the whore that took Amy's man, which broke Leonard heart. Sheldon even got into that fight with Leonard and ended up in jail trying to get them to blame him as well"

"Well he was as guilty as Penny"

"Yes but they just would not believe that it was Sheldon's idea, it was Penny being the big five O, sinking her claws into innocent Sheldon"

"And we backed them up for months"

"Yes I think that Penny was very hurt and so afraid of messing it up and proving everything we were saying, then she feel pregnant and gave birth to Anna, and the doubts just grew until she snapped. Sheldon tried everything, counsellors, date nights, mommy and daughter special time, he was amazing and for the first time in his life he failed"

"He did not we all did"

"Sheldon is Sheldon, he was her husband and Anna's father, and he should have made Penny happy"

"He did, we know that"

"Yes but then he became something else, Sheldon the man as Raj puts it, he became obsessed at making sure Anna have every opportunity, that Penny realised her dreams, Dr Sheldon Cooper gave up on the Nobel Prize"

"WHAT!"

"Haven't you noticed, he only publishes if we make him, Raj says that there were days that he would be talking to Wil Wheaton, Ruby, and Missy and do no work?"

"But the Nobel Prize was his life goal"

"Not anymore, it is Penny and Anna"

"Does Penny know this?"

"She might know some of it, what she has found out and what Mary Cooper has told her"

"Sheldon's Mom"

"Did you not know?"

"It was Mary who told Penny to leave, she ran to Texas originally, have you not noticed that Sheldon does not allow Anna to have anything to do with her"

"No"

"Mary only has contact when Missy and her come to town, Mary goes to spend time with Penny and Missy with Sheldon, Missy takes Anna to see Mary but never Penny"

"Man this is so fucked up, how did this happen?"

"Two people feel in love who were meant to be together and they had no one to help them work it out"

"Howard, how have you keep this to yourself all these years?"

"I felt I owed it to Sheldon"

"Huh"

"Bernie in six weeks would you be happy to be come to a ceremony with me"

"Of course"

"Sheldon will be there and hopefully so will Penny"

"What is the occasion?"

"Doctor Rostenkowski – Wolowitz would you do me the honour of witnessing me become Dr Howard Wolowitz"

Bernadette looked at Howard speechless

"What, When, How"

"Sheldon paid for me to get my doctorate, he helped me the whole way"

"Sheldon does not like engineering"

"Sheldon considers me his friend and that was enough"

"Oh Howard"

Bernadette rushed into Howard's arms, both of them for the first time in years feeling like they were on the same side heading in the same direction.

All because a man child called Sheldon loves a country girl called Penny, and never gave up.


	11. Chapter 11

**Authors Note: **

**Disclaimer I do not own Big Bang, all I have is the story.**

Penny walked Sheldon back to his office and said farewell, a few minutes later Penny was walking back to the main foyer to await Ruby picking her up. When she got there, she sat at the couch and picked up a magazine.

As she was sitting on the couch flicking through the magazine, she was interrupted by someone calling her name from behind, well calling a name she had not heard for a while.

"Well if is not Malibu Bardie"

Penny put the magazine on the table in the middle and got up

Slowly turning she said "Hello Leslie"

"So what are you doing back" Leslie asked abruptly

"I just had lunch with Sheldon"

"You not going to hurt him again, Penelope"

"No I am not Leslie Marie" Penny responded

Leslie looked at Penny for a moment then said "Because my dear cousin, I do not think Doctor Dumbass would survive a second disappearance act by a girl named Penny."

"I am not here to hurt him Les" Penny replied looking at her cousin.

"Well make sure you do not because it was only because you're my cousin that I kept an eye on him this time, next time no promises."

"Sure Leslie, I remember when I first arrived, someone telling me that Doctor Dumbass was belonged to them" Penny smirked

"Ok so I have feelings for the dope, but I am not his soul mate your are"

Leslie knew that her cousin, knew the truth about why she teased him, what her feelings for Doctor Dumbass had been, but then Leslie also realised that it was not her that could Sheldon happy, it was Penny.

Leslie knew that she had to go even though she wanted to catch up with her cousin.

"Well Penny I have to go, you still on for lunch next Wednesday"

"Sure" Penny said "I will have Ruby make the reservations"

"Good well take care Malibu Barbie" Leslie walking to the corridor across from the couches.

Penny called out to her before she turned into the hallway "Will do, you do the same Doctor Frankenstein"

"Always do" Leslie said as she disappeared

Twenty minutes later Ruby arrived and they headed off to get ready for tonight.

At the end of the day, Sheldon got a ride with Raj, as Leonard had to take Amy to appointment. He was glad that he did not have to listen to Leonard on the way to pick up Anna. He did not think he could take any more of his negativity. Once they had picked her up they made the way to the apartment and as they got out Sheldon thanked Raj for the lift.

As Raj drove off Sheldon opened the door, and Anna rang towards the letter boxes. Sheldon spoke to Anna has he moved towards the letter box.

"Anna we are going out for dinner tonight" Sheldon said when he got the letter box.

"Why?" Anna replied looking up to her father

"Your mother and Aunt have invited us to dinner" he said taking out the mail.

"Really why would she want to do that after today"

"What happened today" Sheldon said, bending down and kneeling on his knees to look at her

"Will you get mad?" Anna trying to avoid looking her father's stare.

"No, I know you spent time with your mother"

"You do, oh yes she was going to visit you" Anna said looking a little afraid now that her mother had gotten her in trouble with her father.

"She said that you both got angry and had a fight" Sheldon lightly touching Anna's face and turning her head to face him.

"Yes I was rude" Anna said casting her eyes down.

"Maybe you were but also you are not happy with your mother"

Anna looked up to find her daddy smiling

"Anna you are allowed to be angry, your mother did leave you and you do not know her" Sheldon said standing but not diverting his gaze.

"Yes Daddy if you say so"

Sheldon grabbed her hand and gently squeezed it "Come on let's go up to our home and get ready for dinner"

"Ok Daddy "Anna said as she and Sheldon made their way over to the stairs and started to climb to the fourth floor. They talked on and off when they got ready for tonight, Sheldon could sense that his daughter was frightened and he had to admit so was he.

Sheldon knew he loved Penny, but could he trust her again, especially now that Anna might be hurt more than before. He sat in his spot with Anna next to him, watching Thomas the Tank Engine until Penny came to get them.

Earlier that afternoon

Penny sat in the lounge room of her house, the dogs were laid out on the other couch sound asleep. Ruby was in the kitchen making a light snack and something to drink. Penny felt like having wine but she knew she could not. After all she was a recovering alcoholic and getting herself drunk would probably end whatever chance she had of regaining the family that she had left behind.

Ruby entered the room and said "Ok what are you worrying about tonight"

Penny looked at Ruby as she placed a bottle of water and some nibbles on the coffee table. "Stuff"

"What Stuff Penny" Ruby replied

"Oh tonight, what if I screw up, what if Anna turns her father against me, what if everyone is right and I should not have come back"

Penny brought her knees up on the couch and held them to her chest as Ruby looked at her shaking her head.

"Well you will screw up along the way to getting what you want, because firstly you never have been a mother, yes you were there for eight months but that was all, secondly Sheldon will get pissed off at you sometime in the future"

"Thank you Ruby" Penny said as she buried her head between her knees "Anything else you would like to add to this little pep talk"

"Nah I feel so much better"

Penny grabbed a pillow and threw it at Ruby.

"Honestly Ruby do you think I can do this?"

"Nope, you have no chance in hell" Ruby said looking at Penny with a straight face" None at all but then you are not doing this alone"

"Say again"

Ruby looked to the ceiling before speaking again. "You are not alone, there are three of you involved in this, you, Anna and Sheldon. Being that Anna seemed to be the only one with any common sense, you will need to follow her lead"

"Ruby" Penny said "Anna is five years old"

"Yeah, but she has not run away for everyone, she does not think of herself as too smart for the little people and she is the one you two need to have in mind when you try this."

"I am not going back just for my daughter" Penny said getting up and walking over to the fire place.

"You are not, but you are asking to be part of her life, all she knows is mommy left me, all she hears from some people is mommy is a bad person, and no matter how much Sheldon loves you, he will choose her happiness over his own"

"You are right" Penny said turning to face the fire place. "You are right, in the end it will be down to Anna, I screw up with her then Sheldon and I cannot be together."

"Now the hard part little sister, put that all out of your mind and just be you"

Penny looked at Ruby like she was wearing a clown suit and juggling balls in the lounge "You understand that is how I got in this mess"

"Not the then you, the person who stands in front of me" Ruby said as she got up and clean up the glasses and food. "You are not the same person as you were, you know something that Penny did not"

"And that is" Penny said turning to face Ruby.

"You need your family not for success, or to be happy but because without them there is no Penny Cooper, she is not a whole person but a half of the Shenny, the Sheldon and Penny unit"

"Shenny"

"You hear the nickname" Ruby said shaking her head.

"I get what you are saying" Penny grinned at her sister "I am not a whole person without Sheldon and he is not without me. Anna needs the Shenny to become the person she should be"

"See you are not as dumb as Leonard made you believe"

"Not as smart of Sheldon"

"He is not smart at everything"

"Don't let him hear that Ruby" Penny laughed walking towards Ruby who walking to the kitchen.

"He is not smart as he could be Penny" Ruby said putting the glasses in the dishwasher and the plates on the counter. "He is smart but without you to guide him, he is not as smart as he could be."

"Well we better get ready for dinner tonight, see you when you are finished her"

"No problem" Ruby said as she watched her sister climb the stairs that led out of the kitchen to the bedrooms on the second floor. It was going to be a challenge, trying to bring two stubborn adults back together for the rest of eternity.

It was also be a challenge to help a five year old through this who was a combination of both her parents, smart, beautiful and stubborn.  
"You will do it Ruby" she said to herself "because living with Penny if we fail will be a nightmare"


	12. Chapter 12

**Authors Note: **

**Disclaimer I do not own Big Bang, all I have is the story.**

Penny sat down on her bed, she was little frightened about tonight, she needed to get it right with Anna. Anna was the reason she had been changing her life for the past six months. She looked out her window and remembered Mary Cooper's visit 6 months ago.

_Mary made her way up the driveway after being dropped off by the cab. Penny had called her the night before in tears about Sheldon, baby Anna, what mistakes she had made. Mary loved Penny she had made Sheldon so happy, she had even kept in touch waiting for the time her daughter in law reached the stage that she realised what she had thrown away._

_Mary walked up to the door and rang the doorbell, Ruby answered _

"_Thank goodness you came, Penny the drunk is moaning in the lounge room" she said showing Mary the way._

_Mary walked into the lounge area and stopped, there were bottles of booze and snack food every way around Penny. Penny was sitting on the couch, her head in her hands, feeling sorry for herself._

"_Why did I leave them, why could I not see what I was missing out on" She moaned_

_Mary took one look at her and said "Because you are a selfish little bitch, may the Lord forgive for these words I say, but you have never had anyone make you clean up your mess, Your father cleaned it up, Sheldon cleaned it up and I would suspect that when she was older Anna would have had to clean up the messes her mother makes"_

_Penny looked up at Mary_

_Mary continued "You are a drunk Penny Cooper, you do not deserve to be in that girl's life, what you have to offer that sweet child, more pain"_

"_I WAS SCARED" Penny shouted at Mary causing Ruby to run into the room "Tell her Ruby"_

"_I am not going to back you up Queen P, it is about time someone went junior rodeo on you, and our mother never did" Ruby said taking a seat near Mary and getting ready to watch Penny be told the truth._

"_I WAS SCARED" Penny screamed again_

"_BULLSHIT" Mary yelled back "You may have been scared, but you ran because you were only thinking that you wanted this and Anna was in your way, you wanted to be an actress, to be famous and you knew Sheldon was too weak to stop you"_

"_GET OUT OF MY HOUSE"_

"_NO!" Mary replied_

"_I WILL CALL THE COPS" Penny threatened_

"_GO AHEAD PENNY" Mary said "but understand once I walk out that door, no Sheldon in your life and definitely NO ANNA"_

"_You cannot I AM HER MOTHER" Penny screamed as she threw an empty bottle in Mary's general direction_

_Mary dodged the missile and moved over to the couch "I can and I will if you do not grow up, take a look at yourself Darling, a real look, you are a hopeless drunk, you say you love Shelly but you walked out on him when things got tough, you never tried to keep in touch with them, you paraded around with all those men, like some Texas whore, and before you say it, I know you did not sleep with them but it was still disrespecting your marriage"_

"_But I want my daughter back and I want Sheldon"_

"_Well then you going to have to earn that, young lady, things are going to change"_

"_Like what "Penny said trying to stare Mary down like she had done her mother when she was a teenager._

"_Firstly no more drinking, you must be clean and sober for 4 months, you must get help and when I say no more drinking Penny I mean forever"_

"_You cannot make me do that" Penny said_

"_Well then you will not see your daughter"_

"_OK what else" Penny said knowing that Mary would make sure that Anna would have nothing to do with her mother if she did not comply._

"_Honey I want you to have a good relationship with her, it means you need to stop drinking, you need to be able to be there for her, not stumble into a room and look the fool" May said sitting on the couch next to Penny "Secondly you need to decide if you want to be Anna's full time mother, you have to be willing to be there for her, even if it means no more acting"_

"_But" Penny went to say_

"_No you have to be willing to give up your career if Anna wants you to and be happy to" Mary knew this would be hard, she knew Anna nor Sheldon would make Penny give up her dreams but she needed to make sure Penny understood that Anna's needs came first._

"_You mean that Anna comes before acting "Penny said_

"_Yes And Ruby is not to help you with any of this, you are on your own, she can provide encouragement, she can be a big sister but you do all this on your own"_

"_I will try "Penny said realising Mary was right that before she could rejoin her family things would have change._

"_One final thing, Sheldon needs to stand up to you and you need to respect his authority in your relationship, Shelly is a stubborn mule but when dealing with you, he lets you get away with things others would be punished for"_

"_How can you hold that over me, I cannot speak for Sheldon?"_

"_I have already told him" Mary said "I will not let you back until he is willing to hold you accountable for your actions"_

"_That's not fair"_

"_I said that you would not be allowed back with him, you can have a relationship with Anna if you hold your side of the bargain. He will miss out on being with you"_

_Penny thought for a moment and nodded her head, Mary smiled and put her arms around her daughter in law, "you will need counselling Penny" she said "you have a lot of issues to deal with even if you pull your family back together"_

"_I know, will you be there for me "Penny asked._

"_Yes darling all the way "Mary said "I know you can do it, both you and Shelly, you are both as stubborn as each other"_

"_Thank you"_

"_No thank you needed Darling, you need to start this journey today, first let's get rid of all the bottle full and empty and then discuss her first step back to happiness"_

"Penny you ready" Ruby yelled breaking Penny out of her flashback

"Be right there" as she grabbed her bag and exited the room. Ruby was standing by the open door waiting, Penny smiled as she walked through and out to the car parked in the driveway

40 minutes later Penny started climbing the stairs to her family's apartment, it was not the first time since she had left that she had come here but each time she had turned around and walked away. As she came up the stairs to the third floor, she met Amy and Leonard who were coming down.

"Penny" Amy and Leonard said as they moved to one side.

"Amy, Leonard"

"Why are you here" Amy asked

"Ruby and I are taking Sheldon and Anna to dinner"

"So you are determined to come back"

"Look before we get into some nasty argument, I am sorry I left, I am sorry that Sheldon and I hurt you both when we got together, but can we not just put all this behind us".

"Penny do you realise what you did" Leonard said.

"I know I cheated on my then boyfriend and stole my bestie's boyfriend, but Sheldon did it as well but you seem to be blaming just me"

"Sheldon did not understand" Amy countered

"Did he tell you that or did you just assume that Sheldon did not realise it was wrong"

"No he did not tell us "Amy replied

"Well maybe you too need to get the whole story before blaming Penny the slut "

"Maybe we do" Amy replied

"That does not change a thing" Leonard replied "You still walked out on them"

"Leonard" Amy said taking his hand "Maybe we can talk this through some other time when you and I might be willing to listen"

Penny looked surprised at Amy

"Amy she hurt you"

"Yes Leonard she did but maybe we have just gotten carried away" Amy said "Are you happy being my husband"

"Yes of course, I would not change that for anyone"

"Well maybe Sheldon and Penny doing what they did, helped us be happy as well"

"Amy" Leonard looked at his wife.

"Penny we might catch up later, you have a dinner date and my husband and I are going to the opera"

"Thank you Amy" Penny said as she turned to go up the last flight of stairs

She overhead Amy and Leonard as they continued down the stairs "Amy why the change of heart" Leonard asked

"Leonard we are both happy, maybe Sheldon and Penny need us to back off so they can be happy as well, we need to give them a chance"

"Okay but I am still not happy for Penny"

"Then be happy for Anna"

Penny climbed the last set of stairs and stopped at the door to Sheldon and Anna's apartment. Taking a deep breath she knocked on the door.


	13. Chapter 13

**Authors Note: Amy is beginning to realise that she is scared and frightened about becoming a mother that is making her rethink. Leonard and Amy have a lot of hurt due to Penny and Sheldon. However on with the story, including a little more about Mary sorting out Penny.**

**Disclaimer I do not own Big Bang, all I have is the story.**

_Penny climbed the last set of stairs and stopped at the door to Sheldon and Anna's apartment. Taking a deep breath she knocked._

The door opened and Penny found herself looking at Anna "Hello Sweetie"

"Hello mom "Anna replied.

"You and your Dad ready to go" Penny asked.

"Yes he is just making sure that he will look handsome for you" Anna replied.

"He is, but he is already handsome"

"Mom" Anna asked walking towards the couch and sitting down.

"Yes Anna "Penny replied as she moved to the couch, stopping not sure where to sit.

Anna looked up and shook her head "Mom it goes Dad's spot, Mom's spot and then my spot, as you were not here I was sitting in your spot, but I won't anymore if you are not happy with that"

"Oh sweetie" Penny smiled "you can sit in my spot anytime, and when Dad is not here then maybe even in his" she winked at Anna.

"I do sometimes when Aunty Amy or Aunty Bernie are looking after me while Dad is out, but please do not tell him" Anna replied with a slight grin.

"Ok Sweetie it will be our little secret "chuckled Penny.

"Mommy you know I do love you but "Anna said looking at Penny "I do not want to in case you go away again"

Penny's heart broke "Honey your mommy was a very selfish and bad person, she hurt you and your father, and I need to earn your love sweetie by being your mother".

Anna stared at Penny not understanding. Penny looked into her eyes "My sweet Anna, I do not want to leave you again but if I cannot sort out this mess then it may be better that I do not stay with you and your father, I would be there for you just not live with you"

"Good you're here Penny" Sheldon said coming out of the hallway "Shall we go"

"Yes do you want to take my hand Anna" Penny asked.

"I will if you will hold Daddy's "Anna replied.

Penny took Sheldon's hand and Anna took hers, for the first time in a while Penny felt like she was with her family. It might take a while and a lot of effort but she wanted more of this than anything else. Her career did not mean anything next the feeling of being loved by Anna and Sheldon.

Slowly they made their way down the stairs, Anna walking on the left and Sheldon the right with Penny in the middle. Ruby smiled as she saw them come out of the building, she had thought that she would never see them together like this. The last six months hardship had been worth it. Mary would have been proud of Penny and Sheldon. She knew that this was answer to Mary's prayers.

Ruby remember one night in particular,

_It was the People Choice awards, Penny had just won an award for Best Performance in a drama, while she had for the past few weeks not had anything to drink, tonight was a setback, Ruby and Mary waited for Penny as she came home from the event._

_Wil Wheaton had called to say he had found her drinking with the rest of the cast, she was well on her way to being drunk when he had put her in the limo. _

_Penny staggered through the door and swayed over the living room._

"_Hello Ruby, guess what I won and I had a great time "She said._

"_Penny you are drunk" Ruby replied._

"_No I am not and do not tell Mother Mary ok" Penny slurred._

"_She does not have to, Miss Queen P, I AM RIGHT HERE" Mary replied getting angry._

"_OH CRAP ON A CRACKER "Penny screamed tripping and falling on the couch._

"_Well I can see that my talk with you had no effect, obviously you do not want to see your daughter"_

"_I do, want to see what's her name, I forget feeling a little off at the moment" Penny replied face down on the couch._

"_Penny when I said stop drinking it mean stop all together "Mary said._

"_But it was only one drink, then I felt like another "Penny whined._

"_Penny you cannot have one, you do not know when to stop"_

"_I will "Penny lied._

"_BULLSHIT" Mary said "I will not allow my granddaughter to have a drunk in her life, I was stupid enough with my kids and I will not allow Shelly to do it"_

"_THEY ARE MY FAMILY" Penny screamed getting angry._

_Ruby moved to the couch and grabbed the award as she was certain Penny would throw it if she had the chance._

"_ARE THEY" Mary screamed back "ARE THEY YOUR FAMILY, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO EARN THAT, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN THESE PAST 4 YEARS, WHORING, BOOZING AND MAKING A DAMN FOOL OF YOURSELF"_

"_I AM NOT A WHORE OR A CHEAT" Penny screamed getting off the couch and stumbling towards Mary._

"_Did you date other men, did you kiss other men outside of your career needs e.g. when you went on dates, if you did then you cheated" Mary said._

"_I am not a cheat" Penny said being to cry._

"_You are a mess, you cannot sober up without help and you will not get help from me or Ruby until you ask for it"_

"_Then piss off both of you" Penny said falling to her knees._

"_Come on Ruby, you can stay with me until the Princess here smartens up" Mary said grabbing her coat._

"_Fine go Leave me, just do not come back" Penny said_

"_I will not come back Pen" Ruby said as she followed Mary to the door "See ya when you want to get better and not before"_

_It took 4 days before Penny called Mary, then another day to clear her schedule and get her booked into an alcohol rehab facility. Mary was awesome, she cleared with the studio, and she handled the press wanting to know where Penny was going. It eventually got out that she was in rehab but by that time Mary had ensured that fans were cheering her on, that they knew it was for her daughter and to repair a marriage she had run from. _

_Penny came out sober and happier than she had been in a long while, with her career still strong and back on course to achieve her goal._

Ruby smiled at Anna and Sheldon as they got to the car, she opened the back seat and helped Sheldon and Penny put Anna in her car seat. Sheldon got in next to Anna and Penny in the front with Ruby. Mary had said that for the first dinner Penny had to sit in the car separate from Sheldon.

"Alright off we go, hope you like Italian" Ruby said backing the car out and heading off.

"Sheldon" Penny said "I am paying for tonight ok, I know you may want to pay for your and Anna's meal but this is something I want to do"

"Fair Enough" Sheldon replied.

The car became silent for a while as they drove, while Ruby enjoyed it being quiet, Mary had told to make sure they interact.

"Ok Anna how was school today" she asked.

"It was ok, we had a commercial shot at the school, and I met my mother for the first time, had a fight with her, talked to you, played games and did some maths."

"You are Sheldon Cooper's daughter alright" Ruby laughed.

"I do not understand Aunty Ruby" Anna replied.

"Honey she meant that you stated everything that happened today even the stuff we alright knew about, just like your Dad does" Penny said.

"Oh and that is bad" Anna asked.

"No sweetie that is not bad, it is good, I love your father, if you do things like him, then it shows you love and admire him as well" Penny replied.

"But Dad knows that, don't you Dad" Anna said.

"Yes Anna, I know you do" Sheldon smiled and kissed her cheek.

"I have a question" Anna said changing the subject.

"Yes" Ruby replied.

"It is for mom and dad" Anna said getting serious for a second.

"Ok" Penny and Sheldon said together.

"Since Mum is back, will I be getting a little brother or sister shortly because Peter Wright at my school, well his parents got back together and he told me that in eight months he will have a little sister or brother" Anna queried.

Penny turned and looked at Sheldon, both not sure how to reply.

Ruby chuckled at them both "Anna I think your mother and father need to sort some things out before they do that"

"Oh" she replied

"If they did though what would you want" Ruby asked to increase the discomfort for your own pleasure.

"A brother" Anna replied innocently.

"Why?" Ruby asked.

"Because if I get a sister then I might have to share my room or my toys, if I have a brother then he will have his own room and stuff. I do not want to share" Anna answered.

"Honey you will have to share things eventually" Penny answered.

"No" Anna said firmly "He would be lucky that I am willing to share you and Daddy, I do not want him touching my stuff because of the germs"

"Yep She is definitely belongs to the both of you" Ruby asked.

"How so" Sheldon replied.

"Well she is as fussy about germs as you Sheldon and is as unwilling to share like Penny can be" Ruby laughed.

"Am not" Penny said.

"Remember the Easy bake oven incident" Ruby countered.

"That was my oven" Penny said.

"No Dad got it for both of us" Ruby countered.

"But you cannot cook" Penny said.

"Neither can you that much, Miss I am too tired to cook let's get takeout" Ruby replied.

"Nag" Penny countered.

"Prima Donna "Ruby replied.

"But moms name is Penny Aunt Ruby" Anna cut in.

"I know that Anna" Ruby replied.

"Then it should be Prima Penny not Donna "Anna said with a smile.

"You know what a Prima Donna is Anna" Penny asked.

"Yes Mom it is you" she said with a grin.

"ANNA" Sheldon shrieked "Do not say that about her mom"

"Why?" Anna asked.

"Because it is not nice and she is your mother" Sheldon replied.

"But I call you weird and you are my father" Anna said back to Sheldon.

"Smart ass" Sheldon replied.

"SHELDON" Penny screamed.

"Well using Anna's logic it is a good description of her and she is my daughter" Sheldon replied.

"Ladies and Gentlemen meet the Coopers, all bat crazy but wonderful people" Ruby asked.

Everyone laughed as the car turned into the valet parking area of the restaurant.

"Now stay with your Dad and me Anna" Penny said.

"Sure thing Mom" Anna replied.

"Welcome to Il Palazzo Amore" the valet said as he opened to door, Ruby got out and handed him the keys, Penny moved around to Anna door as Sheldon undid her seatbelt. Penny scooped Anna into her arms and gave her a peck on the cheek. Sheldon got out and moved around the car to stand beside her.

Paparazzi started to call Penny's name and take photos, Penny knew that tomorrow there would be photos and questions as to who Sheldon and Anna were. Her agent was releasing a statement which she had asked her to check with Sheldon. She had made sure that Sheldon's accomplishments were highlighted so that he was acknowledge for what a great man her was.

It asked for privacy as they worked on bringing their family back together, they would not get it but if she had to fight for it then at least her fans knew why. Ruby lead them through the doors and into the waiting area.

"Cooper" Ruby said.

"Yes the private suite, Marie, would you be so kind as to take Mrs Cooper and her family to the private dining area"

"This way Madam"

Sheldon looked around at the restaurant, he was sure that there was no need for him to check anything out. Ruby had assured him that this was a five star establishment and from the web search he did at work, he could see all the acknowledgments.

"Here is your table" Marie said.

"Thank you" said Sheldon.

"Dr Cooper" Marie asked "Penny is a valued customer and has a special meal that she has every second week when she visits"

"She does" Sheldon replied.

"Yes she asked for it tonight and suggested that you might like it also as your main"

"What is it called" Sheldon asked.

"Spaghetti con hotdog tagliati" Marie replied.

"Umm" Sheldon thought for a moment.

"It is spaghetti with cut up hotdogs Sheldon" Penny said.

"I know that Penny, but I was thinking"

"Well I will leave you a while, just call me over when you are ready, we have non-alcoholic drinks for you, please enjoy your night" Marie said moving to check on the other tables in the private area.

Penny looked around and her heart swelled, she was actually sitting down to have dinner with her family. She was so happy, she knew she had a long way to go before they were a real family but she liked that she had gotten this far. It was better than an Emmy or an Oscar.

Anna looked at her parents smiling and talking, never had she seem such a sight. It felt normal it feel like it should be. Anna could not describe her feelings. She was happy.

Sheldon talked and laughed with Penny, he saw Anna smile and look around. But Sheldon had doubts, could he trust Penny, why did she want to come back, he loved her but he could not make himself trust her. He just could not let Anna get hurt again. He wondered if loving Penny was going to be enough to fix his family or did he have to lose Penny to keep Anna safe. He was confused.


	14. Chapter 14

**Authors Note: The dinner continues. Chapter One has had an update.**

**Disclaimer I do not own Big Bang, all I have is the story.**

_He wondered if loving Penny was going to be enough to fix his family or did he have to lose Penny to keep Anna safe. He was confused._

"Sheldon what you thinking" Penny asked softly so not to be heard by Ruby and Anna.

"Penny I love you, you know that, but I find myself a little unsure" Sheldon said trying not to look into Penny's eyes as he said this. He needed to be truthful with her and he knew that if he looked into her eyes at this moment, he would melt and not be as strong as he needed to be.

Penny cupped his chin and raised his eyes to meet hers "Sheldon I understand that you cannot trust me, I hurt you, abandoned you and left you to raise a child on your own"

"Yes but Penny it is more than that, you were the only woman outside my family that I ever opened up to, I revealed myself to you and you rejected me" Sheldon said as he felt his heart break from the pain.

Penny looked at Sheldon for a moment, wanting to fix all the pain she could see in his eyes "Sheldon I was a selfish fool, I did not reject you, I would never reject you" She said taking his hand in hers. "I was, how should I put this, undeserving of your love, I wanted to please you so much that I felt like I was failing you, I saw my mother in me and I freaked out."

"Penny I want you to be in my life again but I am afraid of the hurt when you leave again" Sheldon said lowering his eyes.

"Sheldon, I will not make a promise I may fail to keep, but it is not my desire to ever leave you again." Penny replied, "Sheldon, there is something we need to do, I have a person I see once a week, to help me, I believe that we as a family, you and me as a couple need to see her"

"You know Penny what I think of counselling" Sheldon replied "But as I am willing to do anything for Anna to have her mother back and as a result have my wife return, I will attend, what is her name."

"Doctor Louise Wallace" Penny replied, "She is very good, she has helped me a lot over the past 5 months, it was your mother who arranged for me to see her."

"My mother "he replied not sure what to think of that.

"Yes, Sheldon, your mother, without her I would have lost everything, without her I would not have made it this far, she loves you and Anna so much and she loves me her wayward daughter in law as well."

"Interesting"

At that moments Marie came back to the table and they all gave her their meal orders for the night, Penny looked around as Anna and Sheldon talked about her day at school, as Ruby checked out the actor from the cop series on NBC.

She had a chance to fix the mess that she had made, she knew that getting Sheldon to agree to see the counsellor was a good start, she just hoped when she and Anna were in session she could deal with the anger that was sure to come out. Louise had said that Anna will need to say how she feels and from the taste she got today, it was not going to be pretty.

Penny thought back to her first day of counselling.

"_Welcome Mrs Cooper" Dr Wallace said, "My name is Louise, your mother in law asked if you could see me?"_

"_Yes, my name is Penny Anne Queen Cooper, but Penny will do, I am not sure what to expect" Penny said looking around the room for someplace to hide._

"_Well today we are just going to have a general chat, think of it as you telling me about yourself, and what is going on in your life" Louise said trying to help Penny relax a little._

"_Well I am an actress, quite successful, I am from Nebraska, have a brother and a sister, I am married to a wonderful man, who I left four and half years ago" Penny stated._

"_Missing something out there" Louise prompted._

"_Missing?" Penny said staring at the Doctor not understanding._

"_There is more is there not" Louise said hoping that Penny would realise her omission._

"_Oh yeah I have a daughter who would be about 5 now, I have not seen her since I ran away"_

"_What's her name" Dr Wallace asked gently pushing Penny to say more._

"_Anna Louise Cooper" Penny said._

"_Good middle name" Louise laughed._

"_Yes" Penny said looking around the office, "a very good name"_

"_Shame about her mother though" Louise pushed "Ran away, abandoned her"_

"_What!" Penny exclaimed suddenly turning to face the Doctor._

"_I was just saying what you were thinking Penny" Doctor Wallace said getting a little serious._

"_Yeah well it is true, her mother left to seek fame and fortune and got it as well, traded the love of her daughter for nothing" Penny said putting her hands over her face._

"_Penny can I ask you about your relationship with your mother" Louise asked moving to sit next to Penny._

"_I guess so" Penny said not sure where the Doc was going with this._

"_I take it that you and your mother do not have a real happy relationship" Louise asked._

_Penny thought for a moment, "I guess you could say that we never got along, I mean we talked but nothing personal, she kind of was hard on me, she never praised me or told me she love me."_

"_So would you say that you do not know what a mother – daughter relationship is supposed to be like" Doctor Wallace asked, "Therefore do you know what type of relationship you should have with your daughter."_

"_I do not know, Doc, I mean I suppose I am to look after her, discipline her, help her all those things" Penny answered._

"_Well what about love her" Louise asked, "Do you know how to love her."_

"_What are you suggesting I do not know how to love my daughter. "Penny said getting a little upset._

"_I am saying that since you did not have a natural or normal relationship with your mother then you were never able to have one with Anna." Doctor Wallace said, waiting for Penny's anger to get the better of her._

_Penny fought so hard not to get angry but she found that it just came out like a flood. "ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT I AM INCAPABLE OF LOVING MY DAUGHTER THAT IS BULLSHIT, I CAN LOVE MY DAUGHTER, AND I AM NOT MY MOTHER?"_

"_In fact I am saying is you have no idea how to love her, otherwise you would never have chosen your career over her." Doctor Wallace said, "That is enough for today, Penny, I want you to think about what I just said, come back tomorrow same time and we discuss it."_

"_What you are just cutting me off here." Penny asked curtly._

"_Yes on purpose, I want to see if you can prove to yourself that you love your daughter. "Doctor Wallace said as she walked Penny to the door, "I am not here to make it easier for you to act your way through this, I am going to make face these things Penny, whether you like it or not."_

"_Ok Doc but I am not sure I am going to get through this" Penny said._

"_You will, it will take time" Louise said as she let her out the door._

"What you reckon Pen" Ruby said startling Penny out of her flashback.

"What!"

"That guy over there what's his name" Ruby said indicating to the blond hair actor sitting with the other man eating dinner.

"Neil Patrick Harris" Penny said.

"Yes, do you think I have a chance with him" Ruby said checking him out.

"Rubs, he is gay" Penny chuckled to herself.

"Damn, he's cute" Ruby said looking around to check out the other men in the room.

"Mother" Anna said.

"Yes Anna" Penny said turning to look at Anna.

"Are we going to see a doctor about being a family again" Anna asked as she played with her napkin.

"Yes if you agree to" Penny looking at Sheldon who just smiled back and indicated she should continue the conversation with Anna.

"I do not understand why we need to see a Doctor to become a family again" Anna frowned, "You and Daddy moved in together in your house and we become a family simple".

"Anna it is not as simple as that" Penny said putting her hand on top of Anna's.

"Why not" Anna replied placing her other one on her father's hand.

"Well, you see there are things that need to be fixed, between your father and me, between you and me, we cannot ignore them or they will hurt our family".

"So the Doctor will make our family healthy again" Anna said breaking into a smile.

"Yes that is one way of putting it "Penny replied looking to Sheldon for help.

"Anna" Sheldon said looking at his daughter" Mummy needs us to help her fix our family, while what happened was not your fault."

"No Anna nothing that happened was your fault." Penny said to support Sheldon.

"Then why did Mommy leave, Dad is a good man, a loving man, it had to be me that caused you to leave."

"No sweetie, it was not you" Penny said trying not to cry.

"Then why?" Anna asked.

"Because your mom is a moron Kid" Ruby interjected.

"My mom is not a moron, Aunty Ruby" Anna snapped "She is my mother, please say sorry now".

"Sorry" Ruby replied

At that moment Marie and another waitress returned with the food, after thanking them, they went to commence eating when Anna said, "No eating must say grace".

"Grace" Penny said looking to Sheldon who smirked.

"Yes Meemaw Mary said that we must thank God for all our meals" Anna said "Dad does it now because Meemaw asks me when she visits if he is saying grace before meals."

Penny looked at Sheldon, who rolled his eyes.

"My mother has insisted that I must ensure my daughter is brought up like I was, while I find the whole idea pointless, it would seem my daughter has a desire therefore I now say grace".

"Onya Mary" Ruby said "About time someone brought God into this relationship."

Penny looked at Ruby who just grinned back "Okay Anna would you like to say grace"

"Yes please" Anna said as everyone at the table bowed their heads, "Dear Jesus, thank you for the meal today and thank you for bringing back my mommy to me and Daddy, Amen".

"Amen" everyone else said.

"Ok let's eat" Penny said using her napkin to wipe away a tear at what her daughter had said.

Silence fell across the table for a while as they all began to eat. Penny could not help thinking that this was getting better every minute. They were a family at least to the outside world, she hoped that the image would become a reality too.


	15. Chapter 15

**Authors Note: **

**Disclaimer I do not own Big Bang, all I have is the story.**

When the dinner ended, Penny wanted so much for them to spend more time together but she knew Sheldon's night time schedule well enough and figured that Anna would need to go to bed soon for school.

Ruby looked at Penny as she came back to the car after walking with Sheldon and Anna back to the apartment.

"A Penny for your thoughts Penny" Ruby said with a cheeky grin.

"Very funny Ruby. I want to stay with them but I also know that it might be too early" Penny said looking back at the foyer door.

"Then go back and be with them, sleep in the same bed as Sheldon or sleep on the couch, just no sex" Ruby said looking at her sister, "It is too early for you and Sheldon".

"But I am scared, if I stay and this does not work out" Penny said looking down at her feet.

"Then get back up and keep trying, it is not about whether you love them Penny, it is about whether you can love yourself and forgive yourself "Ruby said.

"You have been talking to Doctor Wallace" Penny asked, "She said the same thing".

"Well I have been seeing her too, I asked Mary to set it up, our mother made a mess of us because she did not handle being a parent, if I find someone, I need to be right so I do not screw it up as well".

"Fine pair of sisters we are" Penny laughed.

"Well are you going back because I put some things in the boot for you?" Ruby said walking to the rear of the car.

She opened the boot and took out a bag. "Clothes for tonight and tomorrow, all things you need" she said closing the boot.

"What!" Penny exclaimed, "When did you do this".

"Never you mind, now go, go to your husband and daughter, spend the night, and finish the night as a family."

Penny grabbed the bag that Ruby handed her and headed back inside, she turned to watch Ruby driving away and then started up the stairs. When she reached the first landing, she suddenly stopped and gripped the bag tighter.

"Come on Penny, you can do this" she thought, as she began to run up the rest of the way before stopping at the door of the apartment.

She was about to knock when she heard, "Its open Penny".

Penny opened the door and saw Sheldon and Anna sitting at the couch "Sheldon you need to make sure that door is locked at night, this is Pasadena, and you do not know who might come through the door, someone neighbour could come in to steal milk, Wi-Fi or God forbid kidnap Anna."

"Yes Penny" Sheldon said chuckling "Ruby called to say you were on your way up."

"Oh" Penny said sitting between Sheldon and Anna.

"Mommy" Anna said.

"Yes Anna" Penny said turning to face her.

"You and Dad going to have coitus tonight" Anna said with a grin.

"ANNA" both Sheldon and Penny yelled.

"When did you learn about coitus" Penny said looking sternly at Sheldon. "You are only five".

"I overhear Uncle Howard and Raj saying that Mrs Maranda wanted to have coitus with Dad" Anna said innocently.

"I see you got your Vulcan hearing from your father." Penny said "I really think your father and I need to speak to some people, Wait a minute who is Mrs Maranda Sheldon."

"She is one of Anna's teachers" Sheldon said not seeing an issue.

"And she wishes to have to have se" Said Penny stopping looking at Anna. "Wishes to have an intimate relationship with my husband".

"Well you did leave Momma" Anna said "Also I know what sex is, I read a book you and Uncle Leonard gave Dad".

"Ok, Well Sheldon" Penny asked getting a little jealous, "Have you encouraged her".

"I must confess we have a very intimate relationship and were planning to marry as soon as I ditched you" Sheldon said eye twitching like mad.

"Still not good at sarcasm are you" Penny replied.

"No," Sheldon replied" of course not I am married and secondly she has a husband, I would never cheat and Momma would have killed me."

"Ok, I am sorry, was little jealous, I guess I did not think that there would be women who might want to have my man." Penny said.

"Mom I have to go to bed now, would you like to tuck me in" Anna said getting up.

"I would if your father does not mind" said Penny as she saw Sheldon nod to indicate it was ok.

Anna held out her hand and led Penny to her room. She went to her bed and climbed in. Anna indicated for Penny to sit on the side of the bed.

"Mommy" Anna said.

"Yes sweetie" Penny replied.

"Please do not hurt Daddy" Anna said innocently, "If you no longer love us and are pretending for some reason, please do not hurt my daddy, I love him".

"Anna I am not, I do not want to hurt either of you, I am sorry I caused you both so much pain, I want to come back for good, forever" Penny replied.

"Ok, but I do not trust you, I am sorry mommy, I am afraid of you, I am confused, I will do my best and I am sorry if I hurt your feelings but Daddy said I must be honest with people, I cannot lie" Anna said beginning to cry.

"Please do not cry Anna" Penny said as she put a finger to Anna's eye to wipe away the tears "I understand, I need to earn your trust, I was a bad mommy and now I must prove I am a better mommy".

"I will go to sleep now, can I kiss you goodnight" she said, Penny bent down and kissed her on the cheek and Anna kissed hers. "So this is what is like to be put to bed by your mommy, I like it."

Penny got up and waved goodnight, she closed the door and cried a little, on her way back she went into the bathroom to tidy herself up. She knew that she and Sheldon would need to talk before bed, she just hoped he would not throw her out the door.


End file.
